Leonard making steady progress on road to recovery

Not quite a full month after his sprained left ankle knocked the Spurs star from the Western Conference finals, Leonard has returned to physical activity.

The rehabilitation process, under the guidance of the Spurs’ medical staff, has been cautious by design. Leonard has not commenced what might be considered full basketball activity, which is not unusual for this point on the calendar.

“He’s done some training, but I don’t think anybody’s pushing him to get back on the floor this time of year,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said Monday. “It’s a good time, emotionally and physically, to take a break.”

Leonard, who turns 26 next week, is coming off a standout sixth NBA season that thrust him squarely in the midst of the MVP conversation.

He averaged 25.5 points, matching Tim Duncan’s 2001-02 season as the most for a Spurs player since David Robinson in 1994-95, and earned first-team All-NBA honors.

Leonard raised his average to 27.5 points in the playoffs, but his postseason ended in pain when he stepped on the foot of Golden State’s Zaza Pachulia in Game 1 of the conference finals.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich decried Pachulia’s actions on the play as reckless and unnecessary. Leonard’s third ankle sprain in the span of five days ultimately caused the Spurs to shut him down for the remainder of the series, which the eventual champion Warriors won in a four-game sweep.

Even if Leonard not been injured, June would likely be a low-impact time of relaxation and recovery for him.

“He’s very scripted in his approach, but it’s fluid dependent upon years,” Buford said. “Years where we play later in the playoffs, he starts later.”

Leonard remains on schedule to resume his usual offseason routine later this summer. That typically includes two-a-day workouts in San Diego, where this year up-and-coming point guard Dejounte Murray is slated to join him.

The Spurs have been pleased with Leonard’s progress so far, and expect he will be able to ramp up his regimen at the appropriate time.

“We expect through a normal training and treatment program, he’ll be in a good position,” Buford said.